THE UK has already struck an important transport deal to maintain passenger flights to and from the US after leaving the EU next March, according to the US-EU open skies treaty.

The accord means airlines travelling between the US and the UK will continue to enjoy the same access they have now, the Department for Transport (DfT) said. The deal is one of nine bilateral flying deals the UK has agreed. The other deals are with Albania, Georgia, Iceland, Israel, Kosovo, Montenegro, Morocco and Switzerland.

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Sir Richard Branson is in the process of reducing his stake in Virgin Atlantic (Image: GETTY)

Aviation consultant John Strickland said: “It's positive news for UK airlines operating to the US market that this agreement has been reached.

“It appears that enough flexibility has been negotiated to allow for different scenarios of either UK or EU majority ownership, a point of importance for IAG, and for Virgin, which is in the process of becoming non-UK majority owned as Air France takes a stake.”

Sir Richard Branson is in the process of reducing his stake in Virgin Atlantic to 20 percent by selling 31 percent of the business to Air France-KLM.